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Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Secular Inquisition

Elder Neal A Maxwell

In 1978, Elder Neal A Maxwell, then a President in the First Quorum of the Seventy, gave a devotional at Brigham Young University. In it, he said, "We are now entering a period of incredible ironies. Let us cite but one of these ironies which is yet in its subtle stages: we shall see in our time a maximum if indirect effort made to establish irreligion as the state religion. It is actually a new form of paganism that uses the carefully preserved and cultivated freedoms of Western civilization to shrink freedom even as it rejects the value essence of our rich Judeo-Christian heritage." He continued, "Brothers and sisters, irreligion as the state religion would be the worst of all combinations. Its orthodoxy would be insistent and its inquisitors inevitable. Its paid ministry would be numerous beyond belief. Its Caesars would be insufferably condescending. Its majorities—when faced with clear alternatives—would make the Barabbas choice, as did a mob centuries ago when Pilate confronted them with the need to decide.Your discipleship may see the time come when religious convictions are heavily discounted. M. J. Sobran also observed, "A religious conviction is now a second-class conviction, expected to step deferentially to the back of the secular bus, and not to get uppity about it" (Human Life Review,Summer 1978, p. 58). This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain of people's opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions" (http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=909).

That was 35 years ago! Anymore, we see an all out war of words between those of the state's church and those who are of the Lord's church. While there are not yet extremely vocal calls for total atheistic representation in government by any sizable group, the cry is heard: "SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE! SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!" (Which, I have yet to find that phrase in the Constitution, but I digress).

During this past week, Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty, has come under fire for his remarks against homosexuality. Now, I honestly haven't seen Duck Dynasty. It came out when I was on my mission, and really hasn't been on my priority to watch. But the fact of the matter is, he said something that was out of line with what the secularists' doctrine so adamantly declares: that we must be open-minded of all lifestyles, unless it's a Judeo-Christian lifestyle, then it's okay to make fun of it. It's not okay to make fun of the way people dress in their religion, unless they're Mormon and have so-called "magical underwear". It's not okay to destroy Holy Books, unless it's the Bible. And the list goes on and on.

If we do not stand up against the secular church now, we will lose the war. Their inquisition has gone on long enough! We live in a world where we promote pornography and penalize prayer. We live in a sex-saturated society where we approve abortions and abandon abstinence. The Law of Chastity is seen as outdated, either in parts or as a whole, by most people, particularly the secularists. We might end up being "crucified"
for holding to these ancient beliefs, but if so, we are in good company.

*Note: The thoughts on this page are solely the thoughts and words of the author, and in no way claim to be established doctrine or official statements for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For official doctrine, please visit http://www.mormon.org or http://www.lds.org